Monsoon Project
Activity Report
16 MAR 2022, Matsukata gave an online presentation “Toward a Global History of Diplomacy: An Attempt to Break Down Europe’s ‘City Wall’" for the Global History Culture Centre (GHCC) at the University of Warwick.
The Historiographical Institute’s Research Annual No. 32 published the following papers as part of research results from the Monsoon Project: “Décadas Da Ásia by Diogo de Couto: A Bibliographical introduction and a partial translation into Japanese” (by Hiroyuki Mashita, Mihoko Oka, Joji Nozawa and Akinori Nakasuna); and “Corpus diplomaticm Neerlando-Indicum (Diplomatic Corpus of the Dutch East Indies)” (by Norifumi Daito, Katsutoshi Kure, Aki Tomita and Fuyuko Matsukata).
As another contribution by the Monsoon Project, the University of Tokyo Press published Orandago shiryō nyūmon―Nihonshi wo fukuganteki ni miru tame ni (An Introduction to Dutch Historical Sources: To Enrich Your Perspectives on Japanese History), edited by Fuyuko Matsukata.
24 JAN 2022, the Monsoon Project co-organized a workshop with the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo, the Japan Academy, and the Society for the Historical Study in Japan-Netherlands Relationship, and reflected upon the UAI project “Unpublished Historical Documents Relating to Japan in Foreign Countries” over a century.
Shoichi Sato, “Post-World War I settlement and the establishment of the UAI”
Toru Hoya, “History of the UAI project to collect unpublished Japan-related historical materials from abroad”
Yoko Matsui, “Cataloging of the collected microfilms and its significance with a focus on Dutch historical sources”
This workshop marked the centennial of the “Unpublished Historical Documents Relating to Japan in Foreign Countries” project conducted jointly by the Japan Academy and the Union Académique Internationale (UAI), and the 70th anniversary of the Society for the Historical Study in Japan-Netherlands Relationship. Guest speakers Shoichi Sato (the Japan Academy), and Toru Hoya and Yoko Matsui (the Historiographical Institute) looked back on the history of UAI-related activities in Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop was held online, and 82 people attended it.
Sato gave a lecture on the post-World War I settlement and the establishment of the UAI. He spoke on the historical background for the founding of the UAI in 1921 and the launch of the “Unpublished Historical Documents Relating to Japan in Foreign Countries” project in 1922. First, Sato referred to the birth of many international academic organizations at the turn of the 20th century, including the International Association of Academies, and Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Then he highly evaluated the UAI, which was founded as an organization specializing in the fields of humanities and met some of the challenges facing the existing academic organizations at that time, including the conflicts of interest and complaints about the predominance of France in the organizations among major countries, the tendency to exclude Germany and Austria, and unbalanced weight placed on science and humanities.
The Japan Academy joined the UAI when the latter was established, and at a UAI general assembly held in 1921 the Academy proposed a project to collect historical documents related to traffic between Japan and Europe. Next year this proposal was accepted as the UAI’s seventh project titled “Historical Documents Relating to Japan in Foreign Countries.” Hoya illuminated long-term efforts made by the Japanese side for the project. Interestingly, as early as in the 1890s, Ludwig Riess, a historian and teacher at Tokyo Imperial University (presently the University of Tokyo), had already collected documents related to the Dutch trading post in Dejima, Nagasaki. Sanji Mikami, a professor at the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo who acted as a facilitator of the aforementioned UAI project, was Riess’s former student and involved in the collecting of the historical materials by the teacher. The UAI project was suspended due to World War II but subsequently resumed. Since 1954 the Historiographical Institute has pushed ahead with the project, in response to an official request made by the Japan Academy. Hoya also told us that the institute has investigated and collected not only historical sources related to traffic between Japan and Europe but also those concerning Japan’s relations with East Asian countries including Russia.
Since the start of the UAI project, Dutch historical documents, mainly the records of the Dutch East India Company on Dejima, have had an important place in the project. The Historiographical Institute has compiled diaries kept by the heads of the Dutch factory in Dejima in the 17th century. In 1952, the institute set up another research project “the Society for the Historical Study in Dutch-Japanese Relationship.” Supported by the Japan Academy, this project, joined by generations of Japanese scholars working with Dutch sources, has translated some of the Dejima diaries originating from the 19th century. Matsui spoke on the institute’s efforts to catalog the collected microfilms of the Company records, and also provided a brief introduction to the catalog database of Batavia’s Uitgaand Briefboek, a collection of documents sent from the High Government of Batavia (presently Jakarta) to its outposts in various regions including Japan. Matsui told us that comparing these documents with those received by the Nagasaki factory helped deepen our understanding of the Dutch East India Company’s global communication network.
At the following Q&A session, Sato said that when the UAI was founded, many European countries expected Japan to take an active part in it, and such expectation has existed up to date and is indeed very strong. In her closing comment, Fuyuko Matsukata, the organizer of the workshop, called attention to recent dramatic changes in the research environment, including the digitization of historical materials and diversification in research interest and communication methods, and proposed that we should carry on the “Historical Documents Related to Japan in Foreign Countries” project in response to these changes. The workshop provided participants with a significant opportunity to overview the history of the UAI-related projects, while also thinking about the internationalization of the study of humanities from the viewpoint of both tradition and changes.
26 NOV 2021 the Monsoon Project held an international workshop “The Indian Ocean, 1600-1800: Exploring the Frontier of Maritime History in Japan (Part I)” jointly with the Historiographical Institute, the Humanities Center, and the Project for the Creation of an International Hub for Ishin Shiryo Research of the University of Tokyo.
Introduction : Fuyuko Matsukata
Alicia Schrikker “Eighteenth century lives, from the fringes of the Dutch East India Company”
Discussant : Mihoko Oka
Lennart Bes “Embassies, etiquette, and embarrassments. Dutch reports on court protocol and diplomatic insult in early-modern South India”
Discussant: Travis Seifman
Closing Remark: Fuyuko Matsukata
Chaired by Norifumi Daito
Guest speakers Alicia Schrikker and Lennart Bes, historians at Leiden University, talked about their recent researches on the early-modern Indian Ocean based on Dutch historical sources in order to discuss connections with the maritime history of East Asia. This workshop was initially scheduled in June 2020 but cancelled several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally held online with Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation. 68 people participated.
Alicia Schrikker gave a lecture on the relationships between the Dutch East India Company and local inhabitants in Bengal and Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka). For Ceylon, she explained how the Dutch had registered local real estate for the purpose of imposing tax, and how the local inhabitants had made legal negotiations with the Dutch. She also discussed the nature of colonial administration by the Company. Then discussant Mihoko Oka, a historian of medieval and early modern Japan at the Historiographical Institute, made comments about the expansion of Portugal into Asia as a comparative example and stressed the importance of mediators between European colonial administrators and local communities, which Schrikker did not mention much in her lecture. Oka argued that people of Portuguese and local ancestry in Goa, Malacca and Macao had played various roles as “mediators,” and indicated that similar roles were played by the Portuguese consul Jose Loureiro in Nagasaki in the 19th century.
Lennart Bes delivered a talk about diplomatic relations between the rulers of South India and the Dutch East India Company in terms of court rituals. He showed a range of problems faced by these two parties regarding the rituals, and argued that those problems had been caused not due to the lack of understanding about each other’s culture, but as a result of the two parties’ using diplomatic tactics based on mutual understanding. In response, discussant Travis Seifman, a historian of the Ryukyu Kingdom at the Historiographic Institute, made comments about the diplomatic etiquette of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the same period. While Bes discussed how the Dutch adapted themselves to the established South Indian court etiquette, Seifman pointed out the fact that the Ryukyu Kingdom established its protocols in the early 18th century based on the negotiations made with the Tokugawa Shogunate in the 17th century.
Finally, all the speakers and discussants had a lively discussion for an hour. The audience also joined, raising a range of questions. All was done in a productive manner. The problems caused by the pandemic were thus overcome. I would like to express my gratitude for the persistent cooperation by the speakers and for many supports from the people involved.
25 SEP 2021, the fifth workshop of the Monsoon Project was held online, as detailed below:
Mihoko Oka, “Clothing of Jesuits in Japan with a focus on their wearing Buddhist priest clothing”
Susumu Akune, “Memorandum about the annual reports on Japan made by the Society of Jesus: Record of missionary activities for 20 years after the resumption of the compilation by Collegio de Macau”
Akinori Nakasuna, “Martyrdom and local politics: Macao, Manila and Nagasaki”
Yoshinori Nabemoto, “Royal authority in Japan depicted in materials related to the British trading post in Hirado”
Fuyuko Matsukata, “Early history of customs duties and consuls: Looking into the global history of diplomacy through the diaries kept by the heads of the Dutch trading post in Japan”
In the previous workshop I made a presentation, but in this workshop I participated from the Netherlands only to attend some of the above presentations due to the time difference between Japan and the Netherlands. However, I learned a great deal from this opportunity, since all of the talks I heard were based on deep understandings of historiography, sharp criticisms against historical sources and its careful analyses. In addition, the following Q&A session was quite impressive, where participants actively discussed beyond their fields of specialization on topics such as Japanese history, Asian history and Western history. The presentations and the Q&A session made me clearly recognize the importance of being more aware of the historical contexts of the analytical concepts and terms that we use for our ongoing research. The workshop was quite unique and meaningful, for it featured a diversity of languages used in historical materials and the participation of historians specializing in different fields.
13 MAR 2021 4th Workshop held online.
Experts from the fields of History of Accountancy, Oriental History, Japanese History, The History of Political Thought, and Dutch History gathered to work on “historical materials written in Dutch language”. There were many passionate presentations.
Line-up as follows:
Takehisa Hashimoto: “Research in Accounting history and 17th century Netherlands:
Simon Stevin, Huis Oranje-Nassau and VOC”
Aki Tomita: “West Borneo Society and Monarchy in the 18th century: The Coastal State
Pontianak”
Isabel Tanaka-van Daalen: “Interpreting the Dutch Language Ability of the Japanese
Interpreters of Dutch”
Takeharu Okubo: “The Concept of Freedom and Napoleon in Tokugawa Japan: an Essay
on Global Intellectual History”
Genji Yasuhira: “Dutch Reformed Discourses on ‘Idolatry’ : Catholicism and Japanese Buddhism in the Writing of Johannes Hoornbeeck (1617-1666)”
(Participant’s notes)
This 4th workshop consisted of presentations on the History of Accounting, Japan-Dutch Relations, Political Thought and Religion.
In the morning, presentations were given on (1) the Characteristics of the Accounting System in the 17th Century Netherlands and the Overseas VOC Trading Houses; (2) The Formation of the Coastal State Pontianak in the 18th Century Borneo in relation to Monarchy/Authority.
In the afternoon we had presentations on (3) the Peculiarities and Developments of the Language Abilities of the Japanese Interpreters of Dutch as seen in the Historical Materials related to Dejima; (4) the Knowledge about Napoleon and the Acceptance of the Concept of “Vrijheid (Freedom)” at the End of the Shogunate and the underlying Western Political Thoughts; (5) Discourses on Japanese ‘Idolatry’ in the Writing of a Dutch Reformed Theologian and the Characteristics of his Descriptions Concerning the History of the Jesuit Mission.
The workshop served as an opportunity to share the progress and latest research outcomes in these fields.
The presentations covered a wide timeline and a broad range of different areas.
Personally, I was impressed by the way the Protestants described and evaluated the Society of Jesus’s Jesuit Mission in Japan which was introduced in presentation (5), because it is related to the subject of my own research (History of Society of Jesus’s Jesuit Mission in Asia in the 17th Century) and is a very interesting phenomenon in the context of the research of Information history.
In the Q&A session, we had discussions from the point of comparative literature. As it is described in the Purpose of the Monsoon Project, this workshop offered a space where “Experts in different fields discuss shared themes stimulatingly”. Further exchange of information including the situation of overseas investigation and research during the coronavirus pandemic was done in an online get-together after the workshop. It was as fruitful as the workshop itself.
I have participated in 3 workshops as an observer since the 1st workshop and in each workshop, I became more convinced of the significance and possibilities of cross-region cooperative research based on Eastern and Western materials in various languages as well as a multidimensional approach. At the same time, I could find insights and new clues to develop my own research interests.
17 OCT 2020 We had Monsoon Project’s 3rd workshop online in collaboration with the Research Presentation Association of the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo. It consisted of the following report.
Norifumi Daito: “VOC and Diplomacy - Contractboeken owned by the Dutch National Archives”
19 SEP 2020 Online review of Introductory books. We got feedback of Matsukata’s Work-in-Progress and samples from co-writers.
12 SEP 2020 2nd online workshop
Line-up as follows:
Katsunori Kure: “Overseas Chinese and the Sultanate of Mataram in Northern Java in the
17th Century - 1630-1680”
Hiroyuki Mashita: “A New Portuguese Document about the Mughal Empire: The Record
of the 3rd Jesuit Mission of the Society of Jesus during Jahangir’s Reign (1605-1627)”
Ruriko Sawamura: “Tondo and overseas Chinese in the 16-17th Century”
Joji Nozawa: “Food Procurement and Distribution in VOC: Current Progress and Problem”
Takao Kawanishi: “Research of the “Holy Chalice” in Japan based on the 2nd Manuscript
of the“Relación del Reino de Nippon a que llaman corruptamente Jappon”;
by Avila Girón (-1619): The Perspective of the Envoys to Europe in the
“Temmon”, Tensei, Keicho and “Reiwa” Eras“
6-7 MAR 2020 Expected 2nd Workshop was cancelled due to the spread of Coronavirus Disease.
16-23 MAR 2020 The Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference was cancelled due to Coronavirus infection.
(Takeharu Okubo, Norifumi Daito and Fuyuko Matsukata were expected to visit Boston, USA for the panel report of “Trading Papers: New Insights on Early Modern Diplomatic Documents & Practices in Coastal Asia” at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, together with Messrs. Yasunori Kasai, Robert Hellyer and Joshua Batts)
I would like to thank everyone concerned for cooperation.
6 MAR 2020 We held a preparatorial meeting for the AAS (presentation by: Norifumi Daito “VOC and Diplomacy - Contractboeken owned by the Dutch National Archive-”)
23 FEB - 1 MAR 2020 Norufumi Daito travelled to the Netherlands to investigate the Contractboeken (part of VOC archives) at National Archives in Den Haag, as well as giving the presentation ‘Managing Diplomacy: VOC Agreements as Seen through the Company’s “Contract-books”’ at the Colonial and Global History Seminar of Leiden University.
27 DEC 2019 Mihoko Oka, Joji Nozawa, Hiroyuki Mashita and Akinori Nakasuna held a debate on Southern European Literal Materials at the Faculty of Literature, Kyoto University.
19 DEC 2019 - 6 JAN 2020 Takao Kasai visited Italy, Spain and Portugal to study historical documents at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the National Central Library of Rome, the National Central Library of Florence, El Monasterio de El Escorial Library, the National Library of Spain, the Torre do Tombo National Archive, the National Library of Portugal etc. He also researched the historical sites related to the Tensho/Keicho Embassy and the Legend of the Holy Grail.
↑The Torre do Tombo National Archive
↑El Monasterio de El Escorial Library
13-20 NOV 2019 Fuyuko Matsukata and Takane Mizukata visited the Netherlands to study the Nederlandse Factorij Canton and Documents of the Ministry of Colonies at the National Central Archives in De Haag. They also visited the Royal Library of the Netherlands next to the National Central Archive, the Navy Museum in Den Helder and the Rijksmuseum (the National Museum) in Amsterdam, and interacted with various researchers specializing in Japan or Asia at Leiden University.
This trip was made possible within the framework “Profiling Leiden Japan Sources in the Global History field: From Bipolar to Multipolar Research”, a research project funded by the Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation.
We would like to thank Prof. Kiri Paramore of the National University of Ireland and University College Cork, the representative of this research.
We had the opportunity to see an exhibition on Suriname at New Church (Nieuwe Kerk). The Republic of Suriname is not well known in Japan, but it seems that exhibitions focused on Suriname, which was a former Dutch colony, are rare in the Netherlands as well.
↑We also witnessed Sinterklaas (St. Nicolas) arriving at the city of Leiden.
According to custom, Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands by boat from “Spain” in mid-November every year and goes back to Spain on 06.12. On the evening of the 5th of December he gives presents to the children. It is said that Santa Claus (he is called “de Kerstman”, uncle Christmas) was derived from Sinterklaas when he arrived in America together with the Dutch immigrants. In recent years a huge national debate, polarizing the whole nation, has occurred in the Netherlands centering on Sinterklaas’s companion Zwarte Piet (Black Piet). For that reason, the Piets’ faces were only “stained with soot (because they came out of the chimney)” that year.
We also collected images of the historical documents of Contract boeken (1.04.02 nos. 4777-4784, 11193-11196) owned by the National Central Archive of the Netherlands, as well as the Ordonnantie van Batavia (Special Collections (KL) 1365 F 24) owned by the Library of Leiden University.
19-20 APR 2019 1st Workshop at the main conference room of the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo.
19 APR
Introduction of the Library and Study Room/Explanation of the Purpose/Self introduction
20 APR
Presentations:
Katsunori Kure: “The Zhèng Clan of Taiwan and South-east Asia -: The Last Vital Artery
of the Zhèng Clan”
Norifumi Daito: “Another Global History as told by Sugar: The Sugar Trade in the 18th
Century Persian Gulf”
We reaffirmed that revealing the movements of Asian actors by using European documents is the basis for current research, but also a problem to be overcome.
8-14 APR 2019 Norifumi Daito visited the Netherlands and studied Contract boeken in VOC documents at the National Central Archive.
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